


The Last Day of Summer

by Kaelyn92, NachoKingZ



Category: Digimon - All Media Types, RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe, Baby Yang and Baby Ruby, Before they were Digidestined, Feels, Prequel, Sad, Stories about Summer Rose
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:48:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25664647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaelyn92/pseuds/Kaelyn92, https://archiveofourown.org/users/NachoKingZ/pseuds/NachoKingZ
Summary: They found out that the worst had happened on a warm summer day: Summer Rose, leader of the original Digidestined, had passed away.As a grief stricken family mourns the loss of their beloved wife and mother, Yang and Ruby have their first encounter with a Digimon - Tapirmon, Summer's partner, who comforts the kids with heroic tales of the legendary Summer Rose.
Kudos: 4





	The Last Day of Summer

Dad was sitting on the couch, his head hung low and his eyes hidden; every so often, a drop of something would fall and splash on the carpet at his feet like a raindrop.

Uncle Qrow was sitting in Dad's recliner, his already pretty pale and scruffy face looking older and more ragged than Yang had ever seen him look.

And Auntie Raven, whom Yang and Ruby hardly ever saw but who would occasionally visit to have a chat with Mom, was standing in a corner not saying anything or looking at anyone.

There was something weird and heavy in the air; Yang had felt it as soon as she walked into the living room. She had only seen her dad cry once: The day he and Mom brought Ruby home from the hospital. But those had been happy tears he later explained, and these now were definitely  _ not _ . And she had  _ never  _ seen Uncle Qrow cry, but even from here she could see tears welling up behind his normally bloodshot red eyes.

She opened her mouth to ask what was wrong, forgetting that she had initially come downstairs to ask if she and Ruby could go play in the backyard.

But before Yang had a chance to say anything Auntie Raven broke the silence by muttering, “The fool. I  _ told  _ her not to go alone, to wait for the rest of us.”

Dad's shoulders sagged but he didn't look up or say anything. Uncle Qrow turned and growled out of the corner of his barely open mouth, “Not now, Raven.”

“If not now, then when?” Auntie Raven demanded, crossing her arms and glaring. “She's  _ gone,  _ Qrow. What good will mourning and lying to ourselves about who's to blame do?”

“How can you be so heartless?” Uncle Qrow asked as he slowly rose from his chair and turned to face his twin sister. “She was your friend, your teammate, and you're...” He stopped himself and cast a weary glance in Dad's direction.

“My what?” Auntie Raven scoffed; Uncle Qrow couldn't tell, but even from here Yang swore she saw sadness behind her auntie's eyes and harsh words, blending with the anger. “That was ancient history long before today, and it changes nothing about how I feel now. Summer Rose died the way she lived: Like an idiot.”

Yang gasped, and it was a loud enough sound that it caught the attention of the adults. Uncle Qrow and Auntie Raven turned in the direction of the living room entrance, eyes wide and horror etched into every line on their tired faces. Dad was the only one who didn't look at Yang, or in any way acknowledge that something bad was happening right now.

“Mom's... _ dead?” _ She knew the word and had a vague understanding of the concept, enough to understand why her dad, uncle and aunt all looked so sad and why there were suddenly tears in her eyes and a sharp pain in her chest: It meant that Mom was gone, she wasn't coming back, and she would never bake her super special secret recipe chocolate chip cookies for Yang and Ruby again.

Uncle Qrow's mouth opened and closed, his brow furrowed, unable to speak but knowing that he needed to say  _ something  _ to his niece. Finally he sighed and said, “Yeah kiddo, your mom died. We just found out a little while ago. I'm sorry.”

Yang didn't know what to say, but her trembling lip and the hot, fat tears stinging the corners of her eyes and rolling down her cheeks said more than enough. She opened her mouth, and the only thing that came out was a wail – a cry louder than any time she had ever cried before. She was hurting worse than the first time she tried to ride her bike without training wheels and fell over and scraped her knee.

And when the memory of her mom swam into her mind, smiling down with her pretty silver eyes, assuring Yang that she was going to be okay and that she would get it next time before kissing the pain in her knee away...the tears came even harder and faster, as did the scream that was tearing her throat apart. Where was her mom? Where was Summer when Yang needed her to kiss away the hurt and tell her that everything was going to be okay?

She felt a strong pair of arms wrap themselves around her and hold her close, and something rough and scratchy press against her cheek. Uncle Qrow was hugging her and muttering that he was sorry, his gruff voice cracked and barely holding back his own tears. But it wasn't the same, it didn't bring her the same kind of comfort that a hug from her mom did.

“ _ Enough.” _

The cold, harsh, borderline uncaring tone cut through Yang's tears and she fell silent instantly.

Auntie Raven, who always looked at Yang like she was something annoying and didn't want to be bothered with her, glared down at Yang from across the room and said, “Stop crying, brat – it doesn't accomplish anything.”

Yang sniffed and tried to wipe away her tears, but they just kept coming and she couldn't stop them.

“Don't you dare – ” Uncle Qrow started, glaring at his sister.

Auntie Raven continued as if her brother was not there and hadn't spoken at all, looking directly at Yang as she said, “You need to be strong, Yang. Summer isn't here to coddle you anymore, which means you need to toughen up and learn the harshest truth of this world: People die. They leave you without a moment's notice. It hurts now, but that hurt will fade. Learn from this. Use it. Make yourself stronger, so that the next time you're left alone it will hurt less and less...until it stops hurting altogether.”

Yang sniffled again, her aching chest heaving and the tears refusing to stop no matter how furiously she tried to wipe them away. She was scared of Auntie Raven, of those eyes that were the same color as Uncle Qrow's but which did not hold any of his warmth and playfulness.

“She's a  _ kid _ , Raven.” Uncle Qrow said. “She's a kid who just lost her mom.” He looked over in Dad's direction, probably expecting him to say something to defend his daughter – but Dad hadn't moved and still wasn't looking at any of them; he might as well have not been in the room at all.

“What?” Auntie Raven asked. She looked at Dad too and demanded, “Would you rather she be like  _ that  _ useless lump over there? Broken and pathetic. She has be stronger than that, for – ”

“What's going on?”

They all turned and saw Ruby standing in the doorway, confusion reflected in her wide silver eyes.

“I heard crying. What's wrong?” Ruby asked again, looking between the adults and her sniffling, red-eyed big sister.

None of the adults said anything; it was clear that even Auntie Raven knew Ruby was much too young to comprehend the concept of death, or maybe she simply didn't feel like dealing with  _ two  _ crying children.

Yang sniffed, wiped her eyes, then forced a big grin onto her face and said, “Nothing's wrong! Auntie Raven's just being her mean old self again!”

Ruby frowned and puffed out her cheeks and said crossly, “Stop being mean to Yang, Auntie!”

Uncle Qrow chuckled, and Yang couldn't tell if it was a natural reaction or if he was forcing himself. Auntie Raven merely rolled her eyes and turned away from the kids, instead addressing Uncle Qrow.

“Has anyone told Kali and Willow yet?” She asked.

Uncle Qrow shook his head. “Willow hasn't spoken to any of us in years, not since our last fun little reunion. And Kali's been pretty busy dealing with the White Fang.”

“Hmph, typical.” Auntie Raven muttered. She sighed and said, “I guess I'll try to get a hold of them – you've got enough to deal with here.”

She didn't wait for Uncle Qrow to say anything but instead left the living room, brushing past Ruby who smiled at her and waved goodbye. A few seconds later the sound of the front door opening and slamming shut could be heard.

When Auntie Raven was gone Ruby turned to Yang and asked, “You okay?”

Yang wiped her eyes with the back of her left arm while nodding and taking Ruby's hand. She nodded and said, “Yeah! Come on, let's go play!”

“Yeah!” Ruby cheered, grinning and waving to Dad and Uncle Qrow as Yang pulled her to the kitchen and out the back door into the backyard; Uncle Qrow smiled and waved back, but Dad did not acknowledge his youngest daughter in any way.

As they stepped outside, though, Yang heard Uncle Qrow say something to Dad, using words that Mom would have scolded him for if he'd said them in front of Yang and Ruby.

Yang didn't know what to say as Ruby dashed off to the swing set that Dad had set up in the backyard, begging Yang to push her. She knew it was her responsibility to tell Ruby that Mom had died, but how could she? Would Ruby even understand? Yang barely understood herself. But as soon as it got dark and Mom wasn't home Ruby would start worrying and asking questions, and what then?

_ “You need to be strong, Yang.”  _ Was this what Auntie Raven meant, that she needed to be strong in order to take of Ruby? Auntie could be really mean sometimes, but she was also wise and strong like Mom.

“Higher!” Ruby delightedly shrieked as Yang absentmindedly pushed her, kicking her tiny feet in the hopes that it would propel her even further on the swings. “Yang, higher!”

But rather than push her higher Yang stopped the swing altogether; she needed to do this, she needed to be strong like Auntie Raven said!

“Huh? Why'd you stop?” Ruby demanded. “I wanna go higher and see Mommy!”

Yang's eyes widened.

“Huh? See Mom? How?”

Ruby giggled and, facing the sun, raised her hands to the sky and said, “Heaven's up there, right? In the sky? And that's where Mommy is, so I wanna go higher and see her again!”

Yang was baffled.

“Who...who told you that Mom was...in Heaven?” She asked.

Grinning Ruby said, “Tapirmon did.”

“Who?”

Rather than say anything else Ruby took Yang's hand and dragged her back to the house and upstairs to their bedroom.

“Tapirmon!” Ruby called as soon as she pushed open the bedroom door. “Come out, come out, wherever you are~!”

Yang furrowed her brow. Was “Tapirmon” an imaginary friend that Ruby had made up? There was no one in the room except for them.

Or so she'd thought, because something slid out from under Ruby's bed: It looked like a baby elephant, except it was blue, covered on top in fluffy brow fur, had what looked like a gray helmet on its head, and there was smoke where its back legs should have been. It also looked... _ sad _ , Yang observed, and tired, with heavy bags under its blue eyes and its ears were ragged and droopy.

Yang almost screamed and tried to jump in front of Ruby in order to protect her. But before she could her little sister happily exclaimed, “Tapirmon!” and rushed over to the furry thing and hugged it.

“Hello, Ruby.” Tapirmon said in a low, accented voice that sounded just as tired it looked, though it smiled when Ruby hugged it. “Back from playing so soon?”

“Yeah! I brought Yang to meet you!” Ruby turned to Yang and said with a wide grin. “Yang, this is Tapirmon! He said he and Mommy were friends.”

“It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Yang.” Tapirmon gave a polite bow. “Summer talked about you all the time. She was very proud of you.”

Something hard formed in Yang's throat, making it difficult to speak. But she managed to ask, “You...you  _ really  _ knew our mom?”

“I did. She was my partner and best friend for many, many years.” Tapirmon said, and Yang noticed tears welling up behind his eyes. “She was the kindest, bravest, most earnest human I'd ever met.”

“If you were her friend, how come you never came to visit?” Yang asked; it wasn't that she disbelieved him, though, because no one with eyes that sad could be lying.

Tapirmon said, “Because unfortunately I live in another world, a place called the Digital World, and sadly travel between the two is incredibly difficult – if not oftentimes impossible. If I could have, though, I never would have left Summer's side.”

Yang didn't understand what any of that meant, but she knew that Tapirmon was at least telling them the truth.

“You told Ruby that our mom was in Heaven, didn't you? How do you know?”

“Summer explained it to me once, that unlike us Digimon humans eventually pass away and do not reincarnate but instead go to a place called 'Heaven'. I'm not sure I fully grasp the concept, but if such a place exists then Summer surely is there now.” Tapirmon explained.

“So then she really is...dead?” Yang asked.

“I am afraid so.” Tapirmon nodded. “I'm so sorry I couldn't protect her.”

Yang felt that sharp pain from earlier return to her chest, but this time it hurt even more. Her eyes started swimming in hot, stinging tears that she tried her best to not let fall; she needed to be strong, she told herself, she couldn't cry in front of Ruby or else Ruby would be sad too. And right now Ruby was handling things surprisingly well, if only because she didn't fully understand what Mom “being in Heaven” meant.

“Why?” Yang demanded, trying to keep her voice even. “What happened to her? Why couldn't you help her?”

“That is something I cannot tell you, I'm afraid.” Tapirmon said. “Just know that Summer Rose was a hero to many, and that is how you should remember her. She loved you, her daughters, and fought to keep you and so many others safe.”

Yang wanted to know more, but at the same time she didn't think she could handle any more; she was barely holding on as it was.

“Yang?” Ruby asked, worry creeping into her gentle tone. “What's wrong?”

Yang shook her head and said, “Nothing.” She sat down on the edge of her bed, and Ruby plopped down beside her; whenever she sensed that Yang was upset for any reason Ruby refused to leave her side until she was feeling better. “Tapirmon, was our mom really a hero?”

“She was indeed, and a great one at that. She valiantly fought in many battles in her time, with me right by her side through each of them.”

For the first time since learning that her mom was gone, Yang's eyes widened and a bright grin spread across her face. She wiped away a few stray tears then asked, “Will you tell us some stories about her? Please?”

Tapirmon smiled and nodded. “Of course. Let me see...do you perhaps know about the time Summer and I stumbled upon a Yokomon village and had to defend it from a particularly violent Tyrannomon?”

Yang and Ruby, who scooted closer to Yang to rest her head on her shoulder, shook their heads.

“A fine place to start, then!” Tapirmon exclaimed, his sad blue eyes lighting up too. “Let's see. It happened shortly after your mother and I first became partners. We were wandering through a vast desert, when suddenly we were caught in a terrible dust storm. When the dust cleared Summer and I quickly realized that we somehow had gotten separated from the others, so all we could do was keep moving forward until we found them or a place where we could meet up later. After a very long time, when we were close to the point of exhaustion, we came across the Yokomon, who were just as surprised to see a human in the Digital World as I had been...”

He continued on, explaining how the things called the Yokomon gave them food, water, and shelter and in return Summer agreed to fight a monster called Tyrannomon who had been harassing and frightening the villagers. Yang and Ruby held onto every word, enraptured as Tapirmon excitedly told them how they bravely fought side by side, and how Summer eventually convinced Tyrannomon to move further away from the village so that he wouldn't scare the tiny and defenseless Yokomon with all his stomping and roaring.

After that story Tapirmon told them more: The time Summer sneaked into the hideout of a vicious Ogremon tribe to rescue an imprisoned Salamon, when she and Raven battled a horrible tyrant named Myotismon, the time she challenged the Demon Lord Beelzemon to a motorcycle race and won, and so many other wild adventures that seemed almost too good to be true.

At one point during all the amazing stories Uncle Qrow peeked into their bedroom and listened for a bit; he didn't seem the least bit surprised to see Tapirmon there, though.

Yang didn't know when it happened, but her sadness melted away and turned into another feeling: It was gentle, warm, comforting, and felt like the world's most perfect hug. She still missed her mom, she always would, but to know that Summer Rose had been a great hero filled her with this amazing sensation, and instead of being sad she wanted to be happy and celebrate her incredible Mom.

* * *

_ “Mommy!” _

Ruby's high, shrill cry caused Yang's eyelids to fly open. She bolted up and turned to Ruby's bed, where her sister was crying and rubbing her eyes.

“Ruby! What's wrong?” Yang asked as she stumbled out of bed and hurried to Ruby's side to comfort her.

“I-I-I had a nightmare!” Ruby wailed, hugging Yang and burying her face in her shoulder. “Yang, where's Mommy? Where is she?”

Yang didn't know what to say, there was nothing she  _ could  _ say. She hugged Ruby tight, trying to mimic the way Mom hugged her whenever she was scared. She couldn't stop herself, and soon the tears rolled down her cheeks and mixed with Ruby's; she couldn't be strong, she couldn't comfort her crying baby sister.

“Perhaps I can help?” A low voice offered, and Yang turned and saw Tapirmon floating in the doorway.

“H-How?” Yang asked, rubbing her eyes as best she could while hugging Ruby.

“I have the ability to eat bad dreams and turn them into pleasant ones.” Tapirmon explained. “It won't take away the hurt of your loss, but it may help you sleep easier.”

Yang looked down at Ruby, whose head was buried deep in her shoulder and body was trembling. She turned back to Tapirmon and nodded, laying down next to Ruby and making room for Tapirmon to slide in between them; Ruby was hesitant to let Yang go, but quickly latched onto Tapirmon like a stuffed animal.

When Yang fell asleep this time she did not have any bad dreams: Instead, she dreamed of Summer, of the days off they spent playing together in the backyard, of birthdays and Christmases, and of Summer telling Yang that she loved her.

Yang knew it wouldn't last. The dream would end, and in the morning Mom would be gone. It was a painful thought, and she knew she'd have to face it soon.

But just for tonight, she allowed herself to dream. Because from tomorrow onward, she needed to learn how to be strong – for Ruby, for herself, and to honor their Mom's heroic memory.

**Author's Note:**

> This was a special collab I did with my partner in crime Kaelyn (@lilsundrake), and she provided an absolutely PRODIGIOUS work of art as a companion piece, which you can find here:
> 
> https://twitter.com/lilsundrake/status/1289813431659327489?s=20


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